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I spoke with Jim Leasure yesterday late in the afternoon and one of the subjects that came up was based on my question of "Well, where are we at with the mod's for this year?"

With his authorization to make this post, here is the gist of our discussion regarding this year's future for the mod class at Spartan Speedway.

Jim has been trying (regretfully in vain) to get the information that he needs from the MMA in order to make the best decision that he can for us as a class. The issue that he is struggling with is the following:

1. Whether or not we will be MMA this year:

The decision is still pending, however, I think that based on his words we will get that answer by perhaps this weekend. Jim is very aware that many of us are waiting, for various reasons, for the decision that will be made by Jim and Poor Paul together. It is not an easy nor cavalier decision for them to make.

The biggest question on the minds of most of us is, why is the decision taking so long:

Quite frankly, those of us who have been involved deeply in this matter are aware that two things have been integral to this decision. They are:

a: Soaring Eagle Casino's Tribal Council Meeting wherein they would be considering their continuing participation as the Main Sponsor for the MMA. Once that decision is/was made, it would be communicated to the MMA, and then of course, the MMA should in turn inform Jim and Paul of where Soaring Eagle and MMA stand. Soaring Eagle has been a great sponsor for our class, and our patience as they have their own internal debate/discussion is/was important for us all. Upon learning of the Soaring Eagle sponsorship decision, it is incumbent upon MMA to let all promoters know, be it good or bad news. To date, the MMA has not called Jim back, nor provided him with any information in order that he and Paul be able to make this critical decision. Indications are that MMA also has not responded in any manner to the questions that Jim had earlier this year in response to our concerns regarding the Points payout money. With no information forthcoming, Jim and Paul cannot make an informed decision, and he did tell me that he wants to make the best informed decision that he can for us as a class, which is only good business practice, obviously.

b: What can/will be done for a points fund for the drivers. Without Soaring Eagle's particpation as the primary class sponsor and their generous contributions to the class points fund for asphalt and dirt, something has to be done to replace that loss of cash. Herein lies a problem. Jim and Paul cannot make an informed decision regarding how they will create and fund a points fund without knowing with certaintly what Soaring Eagle's participation can and will be. Again, MMA is the main communicator/linch pin of this part of the overall decision. I do know that Jim is considering an idea for creation of a points fund for Spartan alone, if MMA is not our sanction body. However, he has not fleshed it out enough at this point for me to be able to present it here, just be aware that he is working on that matter. Another problem here is that the MMA has seen it's membership of tracks take a dramatic dive, from I believe eight or so two years ago, with Spartan, Springport and if memory serves me correctly, also Owosso as the asphalt tracks. There may have even been another. In addition to that, they had a healthy number of dirt tracks under their sanction. Thsi year, again, if I am correct, they now have three (3) dirt tracks and no asphalt tracks, despite their publishing that Spartan Speedway is on board, as printed in the rule book. That is not an accurate representation of the membership regarding asphalt tracks, there has been no commitment to MMA to date.

The issue here is quite frankly the lack of tracks under MMA sanction, and that I am sure is troubling at best to Soaring Eagle. For the money that they put forth to sponsor the mod's in Michigan, having only three dirt tracks and no asphalt tracks committed, I am certain that they have had to look very hard at whether or not if is a wise, prudent financial decision to come on board for another year. And if they do decide to come on board, the next decision would be how much should they put up for the mod class this year. I would be hard pressed at best to put up the same amount of money this year as I did the year, or two years or more ago, for the mod class if my track participation had dropped as precipitously as in this case. One cannot fault Soaring eagle for taking a close, hard look that this issue, and thinking about how best to spend their money.

I think we all are aware that it is very likely that we will be on the American Racer this year, no matter what the MMA decision is, the only question would be which one. That being the case, another decision that needs to be made prior to the season is whether or not we will have a tire rule/impound. Jim and Paul are giving this issue serious consideration also, and we can expect a decision on that also in short order.

At this point, the facts as I know them are the above.

For what it is worth, give Jim and Paul their due and allow them to make what they consider to be the decision that they feel is best for us as a class. I know it is getting close to the start of the season, and we are all in the "thrash" mode of getting our cars ready. Jim kows clearly that we have been very patient and that he and Paul need to give us the final decision, and they are committed to doing so as soon as they can. Regretfully, Jim nor Paul is the head of the MMA, nor can they make in informed decision when all the facts that they need are not forthcoming to them from the MMA.

Jim was able to wrangle one concession from the MMA back about two months ago, which was to grant us a "grace period" for the early registration cost for MMA membership, from what would be $125.00 at this point in the year, to the lowered $100.00 that was available for early registration. As far as I am concerned, for reasons known to a lot of us, I think we are due a "free" registration for this year, but that is my axe to grind and bitter pill to swallow.

have a good day,

schinde_________________Short track racing is more fun than a human being ought to be allowed to have!

One thought on the tire impound. Aren't we getting a little a tad close for people to put the money away for all those wheels and tires. 3 months ago it may have been possible to show up and have all the wheels you need and get all the tires you need. But that was 3 months ago. I'm all for the impound but the notice quite frankly sucks for some. Just my thoughts, do with them what you want.

Paul and I have talked about the MMA issue many times recently and have decided Spartan will not be a MMA track for the 2007 season. In our opinion the advantages of being MMA are not any where near what they used to be. The advantage for the track is a sanctioned body with members will give a track a sense of confidence regarding car count but when we would be the only MMA asphalt track there is no motivation for others to travel to a MMA track. If even one other asphalt track was to join the MMA then we would have made a different decision. For the drivers the advantage would have been the points fund. Here the problem lies with the uncertainty of what it might be and also what it was last year, not to mention there is no commitment yet from the sponsor that has generously sponsored the MMA for the past several seasons. We are reasonably certain the drivers that finish near the top this season may have been better off with the MMA regardless of the sponsorship but considering the registration fee that all must pay, overall the drivers could be better off with out the MMA and saving the 100.00/125.00 registration fee. Now we are aware there will be questions about points funds, rules and tires, which will be addressed soon. We are also aware that the season is getting closer so we will get you what we can as soon as we can. We will not be imposing required costly rule changes at the 11th hour.

Jim and Paul already have all of that information in front of them. When we met with him in December we handed over rules, and concepts. It's just a matter of figuring out the logistics of the whole deal.

The differences are mainly some body rules, and tires. Other than that all previous MMA cars are legal. But I do agree it would be simplest for this season to say if you were MMA legal, and or USA legal you can run. Just mandate which tire we run.

So there is NO fabricated lowers, can add an inch to back of sail panel and other changes. SHould have gave some time on the lowers. The fabricated chevelle clips should not be legal for you can make them WIDER. Giving the track to much sposor space too. TO many changes to list. So will they be named Spartan Speedway Super Modifieds. NO claim
Claim being there still makes someone think about it.

So there is NO fabricated lowers, can add an inch to back of sail panel and other changes. SHould have gave some time on the lowers. The fabricated chevelle clips should not be legal for you can make them WIDER. Giving the track to much sposor space too. TO many changes to list. So will they be named Spartan Speedway Super Modifieds. NO claim
Claim being there still makes someone think about it.

Don't worry, the rules aren't finalized yet. We are still going over them and will be sure to accomodate everyone. That's why it clearly states that the rules are a draft copy.

Well we'd like to know because there are ALOT of rules that has been changed or worded way wrong. BIll Heeney would like you to give him a call because if the rules stand then BRian's car would not be legal for his own race.

"The rules for 2007 are designed for flexibility and to allow Modified race cars which are legal under the USA and MMA sanctioning body rules, as well as the rules outlined by various area race tracks, to be able to compete at Spartan Speedway. In the case of the USA rules, the only changes that a team will need to make to the car are the tires and the removal of any mirrors and radio equipment. Most other teams will only need to change tires if they are not already using Spartan Speedway approved tires. "

Modfan,

I'm sure that if it were addressed it would be allowed to run. As I pointed out in the text. Which is off of the rules page. For that matter any car that wants to run any where other than Spartan under the USA cannot run the fabbed lowers. May I ask how you got the Super Modified idea? Those rules are USA almost verbatim, so are USA cars super mods? I'm not trying to open up a can of worms or anything, I guess I just don't know exactly where you stand on this. The rules posted are up for discussion, well within reason.

I agree with Maurice on the engine claim except now I suppose someone will claim to make us liars. This whole engine claim nonsense is that exactly. I want a list of people that built their race engines for $725.00 or less. Maybe I'm wrong on this one but there isn't a one of us that built one for that, and ran it like we all do. Maybe if the claim actually reflected the cost of a decent race engine.

I think that any roof should be allowed. Performance Bodies has a very good one that they make out of aluminum. It was legal last year in the MMA. I also feel that 8" minimum clearance on quarter panels should be done away with. Mine are made by Performance Bodies and are lower than 8" and were also legal last year. Just my thoughts and opinions is all.

I didn't mean like the real super modifieds but like the super latemodels.
Should leave it as mma rules until next season due to only a few weeks till season starts. change over next off season , cars were already built to 2007 mma rules. rules really need to be looked at before implimenting.

well it never fails.i just got my new body back and now we are going to change the rules great. why just because we are not going to be MMA do we have to change everything we had last year. what the hell happen to the way it was when we first went to this class of cars. cheap boy thats a laugh. why when they sit down make new rule only a few people got invited. i guess if the rule stand i might as well leave the car in the grage. thanks a lot ron parish

The way I read the post on rules tells me that cars can be MMA or USA legal and run at Spartan.

I think some of you guys are missing the part below which I have added.

Maybe some are going straight to the rule section and not reading this opening statement.

Guy's, if you are MMA legal or USA legal you have no changes to make. The ONLY real change is tire and no claim.

Dan Logan

{The rules for 2007 are designed for flexibility and to allow Modified race cars which are legal under the USA and MMA sanctioning body rules, as well as the rules outlined by various area race tracks, to be able to compete at Spartan Speedway. In the case of the USA rules, the only changes that a team will need to make to the car are the tires and the removal of any mirrors and radio equipment. Most other teams will only need to change tires if they are not already using Spartan Speedway approved tires.}